Photo: Patrick Pelletier · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in Ojai, and the trip to work
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 2.5 in San Buenaventura (Ventura). Jobs and income earn Ojai B−; getting around on foot earns it A+. 27% of workers work from home; California has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Ojai, in brief
Ojai’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ojai is Los Angeles, 56 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (511) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Ojai trades workers with the towns around it
Ojai has about as many jobs (4,310) as working residents (3,630), but they are mostly different people: 3,007 residents leave for work each day while 3,687 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Ojai are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Ojai are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 29 across California. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical California worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Ojai
27% of Ojai workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Ojai’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ojai is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #488 of 847 in California. Household income holds Ojai’s grade up ($82,656, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ojai could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Ojai’s commute, mile by mile
About 42% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
A workday in Ojai: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,007 residents head out to work, 623 work right here, and 3,687 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Ojai’s commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ojai workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,512 commuters (the 27% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
14% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Ojai clocks in
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 4,310 jobs in Ojai are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ojai, 2013 → 2023: 3,035 → 4,310. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ojai’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Ojai, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ojai is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #98 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Ojai near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,425 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 49% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.8% of Ojai households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Ojai’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ojai next to U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,100: 1,726th of 3,125 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Las Flores CA | 5,513 | $212K | 4.8% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Gold River CA | 7,924 | $175K | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | La Habra Heights CA | 5,327 | $180K | 4.9% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,724 | Granby NY | 6,528 | $79K | 13.8% | 3.1% | 3% | B− |
| 1,725 | Hughson CA | 8,051 | $92K | 13.9% | 5.5% | 6% | B− |
| 1,726 | Ojai CA | 7,474 | $83K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 17% | B− |
| 1,727 | Fruitland Park FL | 9,543 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.8% | 5% | B− |
| 1,728 | Clyde Township MI | 5,422 | $84K | 6.5% | 5.0% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,125 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ojai, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Work in the towns next to Ojai
The biggest share goes to Meiners Oaks (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ojai workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ojai | – | B− | A+ | 22 min | $82,656 |
| Meiners Oaks | 2% | C+ | B | 21 min | $70,192 |
| Mira Monte | 2% | C | B | 27 min | $72,879 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ojai’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ojai: questions
What is the median household income in Ojai?
$82,656 (±$19,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ojai?
8.2%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ojai?
22 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ojai work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (14%, 56 mi), San Buenaventura (Ventura) (9%, 12 mi), Santa Barbara (4%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ojai walkable?
Ojai is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.1 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ojai without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ojai, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ojai
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.